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Alicia Keys just kicked off the 2019 Grammy Awards with a massive moment of female empowerment inviting none other than Michelle Obama to the stage.

The host said: "Can I bring some of my sisters out here?" and Michelle Obama came on stage along with J Lo, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Lady Gaga.

Each of the superstars took turns to talk about what music meant to them.

An emotional Gaga said: "They said I was weird, that my look, my choices, my sound - that it wouldn't work, but music told me not to listen to them. Music took my ears, took my hands, my voice and my soul and it led me to all of you and to my little monsters [her fans] who I love so much."

J Lo went next, saying: "Back in the Bronx music gave me a reason to dance ... and it kept me moving from the block to the big stages and even bigger screens. It reminds me where I come from, but it also reminds me of all the places I can go. Music has always been the one place where we can all feel truly free."

Jada Pinkett-Smith simply said, "We express our pain, power and progress through music ... every voice we hear deserves to be honoured and respected," prompting an "Amen" from Michelle Obama.

When it was Obama's turn to speak, she was instantly drowned out by the crowd's cheers which went on so long she had to tell them to stop saying: "All right, we've got a show to do".

She said: "From the Motown records I wore out on the south side to the Who Runs the World songs that fuelled me through this last decade, music has always helped me tell my story ... music helps us share ourselves, our dignity and sorrows, our hopes and joys, it allows us to hear one another, to invite each other in, it shows us that all of it matters."

Alicia Keys finished off the powerful moment by adding: "What is better than this? Tonight we celebrate the greatness in each other, all of us through music. Who runs the world?"